The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Begonia plant, botanically an interspecific hybrid that includes Begonia boliviensis hybrids in its parentage. The new cultivar is known as Begonia ‘TESSDARK’ and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘TESSDARK’. ‘TESSDARK’ is a new cultivar of Begonia that is particular useful for use in flowerbeds, containers, and hanging baskets.
The new cultivar was derived from a controlled breeding program conducted by the inventor at his nursery in Congleton, Cheshire, United Kingdom. The overall purpose of the breeding program is to make unique selections of Begonia plants that perform well as basket and patio plants. ‘TESSDARK’ was selected in the Inventor's greenhouse in 2007 as a single unique plant from amongst the seedlings derived from a cross made in 2006 between unnamed Begonia plants of hybrid origin from the Inventor's breeding program as the female and male parents.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by stem tip cuttings in Congleton, Cheshire, United Kingdom in 2007 by the Inventor. Asexual propagation by stem tip cuttings has determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.